Solid state drives (SSDs) are data storage devices that use non-volatile memory to store data, and do not contain the spinning platters found in conventional hard disk drives. Since SSDs have no moving parts and can withstand extreme shock, vibration and temperature changes, SSDs eliminate seek time, latency and other electro-mechanical delays and failures associated with the conventional hard disk drive. As a result of these attributes, SSDs are becoming increasingly popular in markets such as notebook PCs and sub-notebooks for enterprises, Ultra-Mobile PCs, and Tablet PCs for the healthcare and consumer electronics sectors.
However, there exist many limitations to the current state of technology with respect to utilizing SSDs. For example, the cost per storage ratio of SSDs remains significantly higher than that of platter-based hard drives.
Moreover, there are only a handful of companies offering large SSDs of more than 64 gigabytes, with write speeds adequate for replacing traditional hard drives. However, even these drives are limited in quantity, very pricey, and available only by special request. Consequently, SSDs are priced outside the mainstream consumer market and are very limited in quantity.